I was surprised how much I ended up getting into this. I'd never given the first a fair shake so started here and just delighted in how obtuse and almost antagonistic the game could be as it wasn't prone to holding your hand throughout. It encouraged exploration of which I had an amazing time with. The lack of fast travel never bothered me either as nearly every vocation was so incredibly fun to play I was looking for any and every excuse to get back out into the field.

I'd never played anything quite like this and the idea that I have both an older game just like it plus whatever future DLC this one has yet to offer has me incredibly excited. It's definitely not for everybody but it sure felt tailormade just for me.

I'll probably find myself revisiting this title across releases and this version is always an easy revisit for when I just want to check out the content or have a quick playthrough. It does stray to the "maybe a little too easy" side with the inclusion of mp over spell charges though. In other versions, you might debate with yourself whether or not it's worth using a precious spell charge here or perhaps to save it later while dungeon delving while in the GBA version it's just firaga for 33 straight random battles before you chug some ethers and you're ready to go again. I suppose that kinda makes things fun in spite of the original design. The Pixel Remaster version does strike the best balance between the two extremes of the original NES version and this one though.

Another bit of nostalgia that I'm unsure if it hadn't aged well or maybe my thoughts were always the same on the matter. I was quite fond of playing this over the years but my most recent playthrough reminded me I didn't really play it for the gameplay as I might other beat 'em ups but simply to see the sights: levelling up, the enemies, the bosses, the stages, etc. I like it as it's quite a fun little romp but there's rarely any feeling to immediately revisit it rather to move onto the next thing and that might be a common refrain with these sort of games nowadays.

Over the years, I've greatly enjoyed this one for the setting and nuanced (for video games) take on global affairs as well a structure that greatly valued dialogue to the point missions themselves might be dialogue alone. I've also always appreciated how important the dialogue options could be and how the timer for them worked out as well as it gave the conversations a sense of immediacy largely absent in other games that might let you make a more deliberate decision. The game isn't perfect though as it's easily breakable with stealth/pistols and some missions being performed out of order can make for confusing cutscenes. There's also a degree of jank that's balanced by the ambition of the game's design that makes the experience a bit more palatable than perhaps it should be.

Eagerly kickstarted this back in the day in the hopes of getting something cool and I arguably did. It's a fun short experience but objectively works best when viewed as a sort of proof-of-concept for what the premise offers. Its sequel, Dragonfall, nailed everything that was lacking in this and then some. I do ask myself if playing this specific entry on the console rereleases is better despite some bugs given the consistent UI since it was apparently redone in the Shadowrun Hong Kong engine or the fan port on the PC version in Hong Kong itself that had some QoL improvements present in later games. The UI in this base version of Returns is something that was clearly designed for touchscreens while the sequels were much more in line with a proper PC experience.

Started this in January but came back to it in December and had just as much fun going through it again. The game is at a perfect price point, plays spectacularly, and channels an old school Saturday morning cartoon vibe with its incredible aesthetic and amazing cast of characters, each of which is a treat whenever they're on-screen. I was afraid the game was going to run a bit long in tooth, having frontloaded the better stuff early on but I was quite happy to learn they definitely saved the best for last. I hope we get a sequel as there's clearly room to expand the systems and cast but if we do, it needs to be handled with the same care this game was so obviously made with.